Domaine La Tour Vieille

The
vibrant little seaport town of Collioure is nestled on the Mediterranean coast,
just north of the Spanish border, in the area known as French Catalonia. In
1981, Vincent Cantié and Christine Campadieu took over two small, family-owned
domaines where they had grown up, in Collioure and Banyuls, respectively.
Together, they farm vineyards planted on steep, schist terraces overlooking the
sea, where they are constantly exposed to the fierce and wily wind known as “La
Tramontagne.” This constant wind not only ensures naturally low yields, but
also keeps the grapes free of mildew with little need for pesticides or copper
sulfate. Their vineyards are so steep that cultivation must be by hand, and
extensive irrigation canals and walls (all made from the schist rock) are their
only prevention against soil erosion, although there is almost no soil left to
recede! These canals snake down the hillsides, separating the parcels. At
harvest, the grapes are carried up and down the mountain in baskets. This
method of farming, while extremely challenging, preserves the traditions of
their ancestors. Such ideals have inspired two documentaries, Wine From the Heart by Yasha Aginsky
(2002), and a short film sponsored by Project NOÉ for the defense of the European
viticultural heritage.

Though
the majority of the Tour Vieille holdings are planted with Grenache Noir, they
also work with Grenache Gris, Grenache Blanc, Macabeo, Syrah, and Carignan.
They have several single vineyard bottlings of Collioure, and several cuvées of
Banyuls, from Christine’s family’s holdings. Banyuls, neighbor of Collioure,
sits only two kilometers from the Spanish border; it is famous for its
fortified wines. Tour Vieille also produces a wide range of practically extinct
late harvest and extended elevage white and red wines, the ultimate meditation
wines at the end of a meal. The heart, soul, and hard work that go into
crafting these wines make their labor of love all the more delicious.

•
Alcohol is
added to stop fermentation so that the grapes may retain their sweetness

Vintage
Banyuls:

• Non-oxidized wine that is bottled within the first year of aging
• Harvested between September 10 and 20
• Neutral spirit added during fermentation and calculated to bring juice to 16% alcohol
• Residual sugar of 90 to 96 g/L

•
Banyuls
“Rimage Mise Tardive” similar to base wine of “Rimage”; aged in foudre for several additional years
before release

Banyuls
“Reserva”:

• Harvested between September 10 and 20
• Neutral spirit added during fermentation and calculated to bring juice to 16% alcohol
• Must is then pressed and pressed juice is divided and aged in three separate vessels: foudre, barrel, and large glass jars stored outdoors in the sun
• Glass jars are aged for one year outdoors and then blended together into one tank
• The final blend for each “Reserva” bottling is composed of the blended tank of wine aged in glass jars, with various other vintages from barrels and foudre
• The resulting blend has an average of wine age of 5 years—the youngest wine being 1 year old and the oldest being 13 years old
• Residual sugar of 90 to 96 g/L